Bacon
by Pomsterr
Summary: AU where Clark and Chloe are partners in the Daily Planet and in dire need of a story to save their jobs. Oliver Queen is the perfect billionaire to dish out. Build up to Chlollie.
1. Pig Farm

"Chloe Sullivan, The Daily Planet. Do you not think Queen Industries is contributing to the state of our climate by using non-reusable sources of energy like coal, oil and gas?" she assertively asked with perfect fluidity.

"Of course I think it is, but that's where I, the new CEO of the company come in. This company has been moulded to old fashioned methods of working and it's high time the situation changed. Millions of dollars have been invested in research to find clean sources of energy. We will be using nuclear fusion of hydrogen molecules to generate energy from water, which makes up almost eighty percent of the world. The heat needed for this to be carried out is top secret, and we all know a little competition is healthy for companies; after all, complacency is the downfall to any goal, is it not?"

Damn it, she thought he'd stuff up. Chloe decided to pull out another jab at him.

"Sullivan again. You've been the 'new CEO' for a good few months now, what physical changes are the public going to witness and how will this be carried out?"

She couldn't help but bite her lip confidently.

"Well during these months, my trusted members and I have been relentlessly working and planning the future of Queen Industries. These changes will be revolutionary and the dates for the published plans will be available in two weeks" he replied with a quizzical smile, noticing the fiery blonde's attempt to trip him up.

A beady looking man took over the mic and announced the end of the conference.

"What do you have Clark?" she asked her best friend.

"Nothing! Oliver Queen is a very well spoken man, despite his notorious play boy label", he replied with frustration.

"I bet he's choking on the silver spoons his parents left him", she muttered bitterly, which was very unlike the Chloe everyone knew and loved.

"How about you switch your X-Ray swag on and find the blue print of Queen's new plans?" Chloe asked hopefully, knowing fully well the virtuous young man would respond with a "I'm not going to use my powers to gain a story", followed by tuts of disapproval.

"I thought I'd ask you first, just in case. But it's okay…I'll save our bacon by other means", she spoke, "I'm not the only pig Kahn's about to slaughter here."

Having mastered search engines by the age of fourteen, Chloe needed a few taps and clicks before numerous pages of information about Oliver Queen appeared on her screen.

Parents' death, private education, inherited fortune, unwanted job, stranded on a desert island.

"Two years is a lot" she said to herself, "I'm going to find out how he survived that long."

He was last seen in the waters of the South Pacific, where his own body guard betrayed him and sailed off with his quarter of a million dollar yacht.

'Bummer', Chloe thought to herself.

Although she tried her best looking for any clues as to what he did there, Chloe did not find a single trace of the events that took place between 1998 and 2000.

"Hi, this is Lois Lane from the Inquisitor here. I'd like to book a personal interview with Oliver Queen."


	2. Spieling Squealer

Sometimes, reporters can be annoyingly painful. THIS one however, was annoyingly beautiful.

After spieling and lying and eventually winning the PA over with her words, Chloe managed to seal a meeting with Mr. Queen.

"Miss Sullivan?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, sorry about the whole Lois Lane thing; your PA doesn't necessarily like me from the previous phone calls we'd shared", she responded.

"I see. I actually remember you from the conference…Daily Planet big shot?" he inquired nonchalantly.

"Not really", she said in a resigned tone, "A small fish in a big pond." Chloe surprised herself by answering Oliver's question truthfully, she didn't like the fact that she felt so comfortable talking to him.

"Can we start this interview now Mr. Queen?"

"Oh please! Call me Oliver"

"I prefer keeping the last name basis intact."

"So, you finished college at around 1998 and celebrated in an expensive yacht in the summer?"

An amused Oliver Queen replied with a firm "Yes."

"And you were not seen until 2000… my question is, what did you do on a remote island for two years and how did you survive?"

Oliver Queen contemplated whether this beautiful blond was worth it spilling a few beans.

"Well I learned how to look after myself using the limited resources I had; trees, a cave and the sea", he said, leaving Chloe unimpressed.

"For two years?" she asked in disbelief.

"Uh huh."

Chloe's trusted intuition deserted her as she swivelled in the fancy chair, trying to conjure up some more questions.

"Okay, fine. How about you talk me through some of the things or animals or people you encountered?" she finally asked.

"Well it was a deserted island, so there weren't any people. There were lots of wild hogs and an unimaginable number of insects and tropical animals" Oliver coolly replied.

"Hmph", Chloe accidently thought out loud. This forced a smirk on Oliver's face.

"Where's your partner, Mr. Kent is it?"

"He's er…well he doesn't know about this story."

"What makes you think there is?" he suddenly said.

"There is what?" a confused Chloe queried.

"A story here", Oliver said.

"Where there's mystery, money and missing billionaires, there is ALWAYS a story", she responded with a chilling smile.


	3. Hog

Oliver decided not to give anything away to Chloe Sullivan; despite the fact he knew her tenacity had no limits. He mentally noted her ID number as she stalked out of his office.

Between patrolling the city and making sure Star City was protected, he hadn't enough time to relax.

Grabbing a glass and a bottle of Scotch, Oliver sunk into the sofa and switched the television off.

A deafening crash emitted from the elevator in his front room.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Rushing towards the sound, Oliver found a woman heaped under a collapsed book shelf. Lithely and speedily, he brushed aside the broken bits of wood and carried her to the sofa.

"Chloe, it's me Oliver Queen. Squeeze my hands if you can hear me", he murmured in her ears reassuringly. In return, a warm hand gently clasped his.

"Rosetta? Can you get me some water and a few blankets sent up to me please."

"Have you quite finished playing Doctor, Mr. Queen?" Chloe spoke with sarcasm.

Not realising his arms were supporting her upper body, Oliver hastily let go.

"Are you feeling okay now Ms. Sullivan?" he asked her, although he knew she was a little bit concussed and needed a few painkillers.

"Fresh as a daisy."

Charlie brought in bottles of water, towels, and enough food to feed half a dozen people. He left promptly, curtly nodding at Oliver before doing so.

"Have some water", he offered not unkindly, noticing how hoarse her voice sounded when she spoke.

Chloe took the water without speaking and took sips.

"You want to tell me what you're doing attacking my furniture Ms. Sullivan?"

Chloe tried to look up fast, but her head started spinning as she lay back down onto the sofa.

Oliver left it alone as she fell asleep.


	4. Caught

Author note: I know many people don't even know this story exists, but I'm really enjoying writing this and have already written up to Ch.11! Feel free to comment and tell me how to mix it up : )

She woke up groggily, feeling disorientated. Chloe rubbed her head and flinched slightly, noticing the dull pain that grew on her scalp. The smell of strong coffee wafted in the room, she looked up and saw Oliver Queen.

"I'm so sorry for breaking your shelf Mr. Queen, I had something urgent to tell you however a book caught my eyes and-"

"You hurried to take a look but knocked it over instead."

"Well, yeah", she said, smiling sheepishly, "I couldn't resist reading the blurb of a book by Robert Doherty."

This woman seemed to intrigue Oliver more and more, "I didn't know you're into conspiracy theory novels."

"You should see my wall of weird, and then try making that statement again", she chortled with a grin.

Chloe gulped the scalding coffee down and nibbled on a blueberry muffin while Oliver talked about his favourite books.

"Your favourite book is The Rise and Fall of Mussolini?" she exclaimed, baffled by his chosen genre.

"Yes! Obviously I've read every published biography written about him, but this one justifies Mussolini's greatness and weakness; illusion versus reality, fascism versus democracy. It's wonderfully written", Oliver rambled on, entertaining Chloe along the way.

"I didn't know you-"

"Had a brain?"

"No", Chloe said in a defended tone, "I just didn't know you're into politics."

"You should see my book shelf back in Star City", he retorted cheekily.

For several hours, both of them sat, drank coffee, and just chatted about everyday things until the subject of work came up.

"What were you going to tell me last night?" he asked. Chloe bit her lip nervously, contemplating whether she should drop this bomb on his pretty head or not.

"I wanted to tell you that I know."

"Know what?"

"What happened on the island."

Blood rushed to his face as he smoothly denied Chloe's notions; "I told you last week what happened. You don't need to reiterate the facts back to me."

"I know about the smuggling operation that you took down, I also know how you helped those people rebuild their lives", Chloe said. Oliver noticed a different tone in her voice, almost as if she was impressed with his decency. He knew even if he was the best liar in the world, Chloe Sullivan would still be able to see right through the façade.

"Are you going to write publish story then?" he asked, holding his breath for the answer.

"No."

Simultaneously, Oliver's head shot up as a startled expression washed over his face.

"Why not?" he enquired again, the response was not as immediate as the last.

An alarming silence expanded between them while Chloe tried to reply, "…I know something else too", the veins on his head pulsated violently, "You're Green Arrow."


	5. Unexpected

NOTE: let's have a vote on whether I should include a sex scene in one of the future chapters. I'm thinking about it but can't make my mind up.

Vote Yes or No in the reviews and I'll write the results next week :)

ps. thanks for reading!

I found it hard not to think about coitus when Chloe Sullivan walked in.

"Chloe, about the Oliver Queen article, I think it's a dead end", Clark remarked a couple of days ago.

He knew.

He knew and didn't tell her.

"You know don't you?"

"What?"

"That he's Green Arrow!"

Clark gave a half smile before attempting to throw an array of words at her that might deter her from finding the truth.

"Don't worry", Chloe muttered, "I found out by myself no thanks you."

Chloe had to hand it to him; discovering what happened in those two years took quadruple the amount of time and energy needed for her to dig out than any other person would. Baffled by the elaborate fabrication of every minute detail showed Chloe that not only was Oliver Queen a great businessman, he also deserved a little more credit than she had initially given him. A peculiar sensation extended across her chest, it might have been the seventh cup of coffee, or a feeling of admiration.

She decided it was time for an apology. Texting was too crude and meeting up for a coffee would be too distinguishable, weighing the pros and cons, a friendly call was the best option.

"You have reached Oliver Queen's phone. I have nine of them and probably won't return this call, leave a message anyway and I'll try to-" Chloe hung up, knowing that a voicemail wouldn't suffice.

"Mr Queen, there is someone here to see you", the intercom boomed loudly as Oliver was signing a mountain of papers.

"Tell them to come back another time!" he barked in return, feeling irritated towards the fact that a trivial matter like signing a few sheets would be so tedious.

"She says you know her, a Chloe Sullivan?"

"Why didn't you say? Let her IN then."

Chloe walked around the haughty woman blithely and went in without knocking.

"You sure sounded angry, although I don't blame you; that secretary of yours is painfully arrogant", she found herself saying.

"Oh her! She's hot and can answer calls, that's pretty much all I need", he retorted unabashed. This didn't really help Chloe's frame of mind to apologise to Oliver.

"I came here to apologise to you Mr. Queen" she coughed out, "About being rude and prejudiced towards you."

A brilliant smirk appeared on his face, all sense of humility lost on his part.

"I'm sorry?"

"I want to apologise"

"For...?" Oliver shamelessly asked.

"Being rude Mr. Queen", Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I thought we were past the last name basis Chloe?" he said, smiling at her with his big brown eyes.


	6. Euphoric

NOTE: I've written a mini sex-scene, but if you want me to include it in the coming chapters, you've got to keep voting! MWAHAHAHAHA. LOL!

Next chapter will be up on saturday.

Again, thanks for reading and reviewing; means a LOT

I didn't see it coming, nor did Chloe. But I'm thankful that it happened.

Chloe's job was hanging by a thread due to her unbelievably immense moral compass. She wasn't surprised that Oliver would lend a helping hand, or satellite in this case, to help solve the stiflingly alarming situation.

"Thank you Mr Qu- Oliver! SO much! You just saved our behinds."

'Speaking of behinds, yours is looking pretty good to me…' Oliver lost in his trail of thought snapped out of it abruptly saying, "No problem."

"So he's giving us pictures of the crop circles, with evidence that it was government run? And you found out that they were going to scare the farmers off the land to build a telescope on it?" Clark asked, awestruck.

"Yes! And that they're going to use the telescope to receive transmitter messages from a satellite no one knew existed. It's the article every journalist only ever dreams of writing!" Chloe exclaimed, filled with euphoria. She'd hoped that her journalistic skills would get her that story, but the bitterness never leaked into her brain and trickles of joy was evident on her face.

To celebrate, Clark took Chloe and Lois to the Club Atlantis.

"Wow Smallville, didn't think you could fit dancing in your tight schedule of shovelling manure!" Lois shouted over the distasteful music.

This only evoked an eye roll from Clark.

"I'll get us some drinks!"

Returning with three beers and a complimentary packet of peanuts, Chloe sat down and took a sip. A sudden jolt of pain erupted in Clark's stomach as he noticed emerald embers glowing at the rim of the glass. A deafening crash emerged from across the room as a helpless Clark tried to brush away the beer glasses. Alarmed by the sudden outburst, Chloe dragged Clark away as fast as she could with her small arms. Turning back to Lois, she found her collapsed on the floor with a violently scarlet liquid secreting from her mouth.

"Lois!" Chloe shrieked dementedly, not knowing what to do, "Lois!"


	7. Blank

NOTE: update on the sex scene, it is IN but it's not a usual dirty smut scene. LOL, sorry disappoint anyone out there ;)

I was too late, and I hated myself for it.

Lois's limp body lay on the floor, her languid head in Chloe's blood smothered hands.

There was a huge commotion behind them and Clark was too busy dealing with the bearded goons to notice the blank eyes of Chloe Sullivan.

She rocked her cousin's head back and forth as tenderly as she could, trying not to let the tears spill, "The ambulance will be here any minute now Lois" she crooned repeatedly. It was futile.

Desperately she felt the pulse less neck and listened to the non existent breathing, realising the reality, the tears overwhelmed those tired eye lids and blackness spread across Chloe's vision.

"Don't disturb me. I'm doing my yoga now."

Droplets of perspiration clung to the well toned abs of Oliver Queen. Preparing for duty was always the best time of day for him. Even though the adrenaline rush from the thrills of being in danger was invigorating, the prospect of saving the lives of people gave him a sense of untainted purpose. To help people survive the obscure streets made Oliver feel whole and human; he could not rescue his parents but at least he could lend a hand to those in need now.

Plastered in green leather and scouring across Star City, leaping from one building to another.

Oliver's steady breathing combined with the speedy steps created an ensemble of rhythms and dynamics. Although he had other places to patrol, Star City always had a soft spot in his heart.

Oliver's arrows were flying gracefully towards them, his mind set on saving the partiers who had been innocently enjoying their evening.

He watched a tall, brown haired woman wiping fresh blood off of her face as she stared at a heap of matter in shock.

The ear shattering beating began to boom in his brain as he slowly edged towards her.

"Oh no!"

"Chloe?"

"CHLOE!"

The woman, Clark and Oliver fell to their knees to the pallid face that lay still and peaceful. Without any notice Clark picked her up and walked off leaving Oliver to tend to the stranger next to him, who appeared to be expressionless.

"Did you know her, Miss?" the distorted voice asked.

"She's my cousin Chloe."


	8. Breakfast

NOTE:This is really short, but it felt right. Next chapter up on Wednesday.

ps. Thanks EVERYONE who's reading.

I didn't know if I was shocked, relieved or bursting with alarming joy.

Curls of soft blond hair was splayed on the pillows, Oliver noticed while demanding answers from Clark Kent.

"Why are you not taking her to the hospital? She's dead."

"Trust me; I know what I'm doing."

Oliver didn't even know why he followed Clark into his barn, and insisted on sitting beside the cold body that belonged to Chloe.

She was wedged between darkness and a blinding light. Hovering effortlessly in a spot of gray that belonged neither here nor their. Chloe felt a gentle force of pressure on her neck as the skin on the surface began to regain heat from the surroundings.

Inch by inch, a tingling sensation engulfed the shade of gray, which pulled her closer and closer towards the light. Chloe noticed how her hands were warm throughout the whole experience, a tender grazing.

Unconsciously, Oliver held Chloe's hand and revelled in the icy coldness of it.

A bewildered pair of eyes startled him as Chloe ripped her hands away.

After making sure Chloe was alright, Oliver drove home feeling confused and hurt.

Why should he feel hurt? It's not like they were lovers he thought.

He also thought about how peaceful she looked in her sleep, all the stress and bustle smoothed out of her skin.

"I'll send her some breakfast over tomorrow" he whispered to no one in particular.

The sun rose lazily, as if the clouds were mutinying against it with the black birds.

Chloe woke up after ten hours of sleep to the salivating smell of coffee and bagels and eggs. With her toes snuggled in slippers she walked over to the kitchen table and noticed a note: Hope you're feeling better. Knew you liked breakfast food so I got my chef to rustle something up, Oliver.

Her cheeks coloured violently as she remembered the events of last night. Oliver saw her come back to life.

He'd put two and two together and…

Oliver trusted her with his secret, so she could trust him in return.

She'd tell him now.

"Oliver? Yeah. Come over to The Talon. No no! I'm fine, I just need to talk to you."


	9. Early Night

_Holy crap, that one smacked me right in the face._

Chloe's face grew pale and confidence had abandoned her while she explained to the dumbfounded Oliver that sat in front of her. He had taken it well, considering the revelation. It almost sounded biblical to him, but Oliver never was that religious and doubted whether He existed or not.

"So you're meteor infected…you heal people?"

"Yep" she said, ripples of nervous breath surged from her mouth.

Then she bit her lip, waiting for the "I thought it was going to something like flying."

According to Oliver, he hadn't been surprised at all by the fact that the creator of Wall of Weird had been meteor infected; Chloe practically lived with the stuff. But she was not convinced at all. Gently pressing her hands reassuringly he left The Talon to have a shower and fill in some paper work. The driver stopped in front of the apartment and opened the door for Oliver."Thank you Michael. You can go home now" he said even though it was just past two in the afternoon. Oliver was extremely tired, after the club fiasco he hadn't had any time to carry out daily routines, and as he calculated slowly Oliver realised he hadn't slept in thirty seven hours. The shadows grew alarmingly dark, he saw, and the nerves in his right eye lid twitched on its own accord. He took his clothes off and walked into the shower. The hot water relaxed him a little, undoing the stress buttons that had a tendency to suffocate him on a day-day basis. By the time he got out, a string of yawns had already been dangling from his mouth and he fell asleep as soon as his head battered against the soft pillow.

"What are doing in that ridiculous costume?"

"The only part of being Green Arrow that sucks is that I have to wear it, but you didn't mind before!" he teased her.

"I think I should have one too just to see whether those spandex tights define my calves as nicely as they do yours."

He grabbed her by the wrist and held it to his lips, "Now you've done it."

Ringing of laughter flowed from those lips as Oliver's experimented with her in every way imaginable.

The sheets around Oliver were kicked off, his hands were clenched and his chest was heaving with shallow breaths.

"It was a dream. Just a dream."

Every strand of his hair had been raised and every cell in his body had been chilled. Oliver experienced the most vivid dream, and regretted waking up the second his eyes flew open.


	10. Touch

NOTE: thank you for the constructive criticism, I accept it with open arms. The flow of this story is slightly jagged as I've been trying to portray both parts in third person, so it's pretty difficult. Also, writing each chapter has been inspired by different things so I realise now that the tone of my writing isinconsistent. Since this cannot be amended, please continue to read and just enjoy the plot.

"I'll have a bagel and coffee Clark!"

"I'll have my driver drop some off to you in a few minutes" he laughed through the phone.

"Oh sorry Oliver. I thought you were Clark" she said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"So… New Years party, you in?" Oliver nonchalantly offered an invitation hoping she'd accept. Chloe was baffled by this gesture as the horrors of previous high society parties included C-list celebrities, inedible finger food and overzealous entertainment that preyed on people's vulnerable ears.

"Uhm" escaped her lips as she bit them nervously. A sad beam of loneliness emanated from the phone line as Oliver waited for the response.

"Okay I'll be there."

Chloe had no idea what to wear as most of her wardrobe consisted of work clothes or casual clothes. The only party related garments she had was the hideous prom dress she never wanted to wear and a black corset dress that made her face red even thinking about it. Chloe took a trip to the mall and bought herself a nice white bias cut dress; she dreaded the low cut but bit her tongue and went ahead.

Oliver Queen sat at his desk, politely chatting to the head manager of a charity organisation, about the billionaire auction and how it would benefit the blind children in the care homes. The woman had a gentle smile and eyes that could hold anyone's gaze. He blinked a few times before being able to rip away from them.

"So I have the list of people that have signed up to be auctioned off, all the proceeds will be shared out to the subdivisions of your organisation" he said as he walked the woman out.

"Ah Chloe! Meet Sophia, she's head of HHFB. We were just discussing about auction. Sign you up for a good cause?" Oliver asked Chloe, who had just stepped out of the elevator.

"Sure!" she replied with a dazzling smile that made Sophia's eyes seem superficially dim.

That was very unlike Chloe, signing up to be auctioned off as if she were an object but hearing that men were signed up too, she did not see a problem. She and Oliver watched Sophia walk out before exchanging their usual greetings.

"Coffee?"

"Yep"

"How have you been?"

Even though it had been a couple of months since they first saw one another, Oliver and Chloe were babbling on like an old pair of best friends who had been reunited after three years. The number of times the secretary stumbled into the room unannounced got on Oliver's nerves, while Chloe tittered at his obliviousness to his secretary's blue eyes and busty body. She began to tell another anecdotal story about work and sharing by-lines with Clark- a little too animatedly -and spilled scalding coffee all over her front. Oliver whizzed around, but continued to stare at the mirror in front of him. He observed Chloe unbuttoning her purple top and slip on the too-big shirt he'd handed her over her vivacious curves. He noticed her stomach had turned red and reached out to stroke it unthinkingly.


	11. Iron

NOTE: I can tell this has changed SO much, but it needs to be in this way. Sorry for the rubbish writing and the inconsistency :(

_It was friendship, Oliver thought, but it was also something more._

_Always something more with me, Chloe found herself thinking._

Her face deepened in colour alarmingly while Oliver's hands quickly repelled the skin he wanted to touch so much.

"Sorry! That looks really bad. Do you want to go to the Clinic or the hospital? I could call my dr-"

"No it's okay. My skin is really sensitive. It's not burning or anything."

Chloe returned to The Daily Planet and began her obituaries. One hit wonder didn't do much good in the journalism world, and Clark was too busy with his own problems to notice how uneasy Chloe felt.

Chloe thought that they would move on quickly from this incident but hasty good byes and a "thanks for the shirt" later, a wave of self doubt swirled in the whirlpool that was her mind. It never occurred to her that Oliver Queen was being nice to her because of her body. She wasn't exactly a size zero, but she wasn't hideous either. Unlike herself, Chloe began to want to be one of "them women." Maybe just this once, she would be able to not fall head over heels for someone who had no interest in her feelings. Just a little bit of fun with unattached feelings that wouldn't get in the way of a good…of a good acquaintance. Chloe saw her reflection in the mirror and saw a plain old journalist with eyes full of unwritten dreams and lips that were bitten too many times to hide the tears that went unshed. She noticed the moon in the sky. It was full of sadness and density and for an odd reason, she felt the same.

Oliver had no idea what had happened. One minute they were cackling at Clark's attempt to flirt his way out of trouble, the next minute a dense cluster of awkwardness hung above their heads like a heaving cloud. Granted her skin made his feel like ice, and it was softer than anyone he had ever touched but he thought nothing of it. He forced himself to think nothing of it. There were too many women who were a mere notch on his bed post. Too many women who were hurt and ignored; he had sex with them but never made love to them. Oliver took advantage of them but had never taken care of them. To him the female species were like things he used and threw away. He hung his head in disgrace as thoughts of Chloe had mixed with the other girls he took to bed. The iron fist that held his sexuality was not going to open until he was very sure it wouldn't punch him in the nuts when things went bad."I will not have sex with Chloe until she makes the move" Oliver thought out loud. His face was laden with surprise as a sudden realisation that he might be falling in love with her, began to ink itself on his brain.


	12. Unwholesome

Chloe became obsessed with Oliver Queen. Not in the stalker-ish way, but as a fellow human being she was intrigued by him. He never slipped up being Green Arrow, yet everyday there was something about him in the papers that evoked an eye roll from her. She admitted alarmingly that maybe she had got it all wrong. Maybe Oliver wasn't the 'fun buddy' type; maybe he was someone else. Sadness grew in her chest as Chloe realised that she didn't really know him, well, not the real him. She was at her desk in the Planet when the phone rang annoyingly.

"You've reached Chloe Sullivan at the Daily Planet", her voice droned.

"Work not treating you well?"

Chloe's eyes peeled open at the sound of his voice, "Jimmy!"

"Actually, I prefer _James_."

Chloe spoke on the phone to Jimmy for hours, talking about meeting up. She had to cower behind her chair every time Kahn walked past, snooping about per usual.

Jimmy Olsen walked through the weathered doors and made sure everyone had their eyes on him…not on purpose of course. His feet caught on the corner of the door as he stumbled over, knocked coffee off a passer by's hand and head butted a chair along the way. "Only you Jim- James", Chloe smiled as she helped him get up.

"It might be the bump to my head, but your eyes got brighter, Bright Eyes."

They strolled leisurely to Metro Café and grabbed a table by the fire place. It was cold outside, the snow dusted every inch of surface and swirls of frost shone on the windows. Chloe finally noticed the subtle changes in the man sitting nest to her. Jimmy had grown a little taller and his jaws lost the boyish roundness it once retained. His voice had a certain timbre to it that made her smile.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the first day we met."

At that exact moment Oliver rushed in from the cold, beating the icy cold off of his un-gloved hands. Chloe's face resembled a tomato as she struggled to introduce the two men to each other.

"Oliver Queen, James Olsen. James is a photographer and Oliver Queen is a, well, billionaire tycoon."

Oliver didn't know why, but an automatic wave of hostility rolled off him towards the Olsen guy. He saw the glimmer in his eyes and the sheen in his smile. James liked Chloe. Oliver shook his hands a little too firmly, to see whether this guy could handle the subtly forceful nature of Chloe or not.

Chloe disapproved greatly, not that it mattered to him.

"Chloe" Oliver motioned to speak privately. She got up slowly and walked to the muffin stand.

"Just to remind you, my New Year party is next week. I've invited really close friends and they won't feel comfortable with anyone else" he hinted not too softly. She rolled her eyes again, tut-ting while doing so. "Let me guess. You don't like Jimmy."

She guessed right, Oliver didn't like James….or _Jimmy _as she liked to call him. Chloe looked back at him and smiled her glorious smile.

Great, Oliver thought. She likes him too.


	13. Given

"Croissant mademoiselle?" the waiter asked.

"No thank you Pierre, just a coffee for me si'l vous plait"

Jimmy left after a day. Probably got bored, Chloe thought.

"I have college and my job back home", he told her, and "It was great seeing you."

Her excuse for not asking Jimmy out on a date was…well, she didn't really have one that was valid. His glittery eyes and sun kissed dimple lost their charm as a trail of awkwardness followed throughout the day. Jimmy's bubbly personality began to wear out on her. The real reason for this was so absurd, Chloe willed herself to not even think about it.

She walked home and rummaged through her closet to find that dress she had bought for the party. Carefully, she applied her make up and put it on.

Chloe drove to Oliver's apartment a little early to see if he needed any help with the party (bearing in mind he was a billionaire and probably had the best party planners money could buy). "Happy New Year Oliver!" her voice rang through the intercom. Oliver hurriedly let her in. He was topless as usual, and looking incredibly relaxed. "Let me guess…your secretary took care of everything?" Oliver nodded while Chloe looked at him in mock disgust.

The party was in full swing before Chloe knew it. Although there were lots of other billionaire tycoons on the roof and around the rooms, she didn't feel self conscious at all. After eighth cup of boozy punch, she went all out and took to the dance floor.

Oliver was chatting with a few women who he'd describe as being 'on the prowl Cougars'. Although they were ridiculously attractive with a sultriness that seemed irresistible, not one of them held his eyes like…like some other people could. The commotion in the main room was Chloe, dancing. A drunk Dean Martin's voice filtered through the room as Sway began to play. The atmosphere was saturated with excitement as the audience watched with awe in their starry eyes.

Ah hell, Oliver thought, so they swayed around the room and more and more people began to join in.

"You're good at dancing too? Aw man!"

Oliver chuckled quietly, completely amused to hear Chloe Sullivan slurring her words.

"It's a given when your mum forced tap and jazz classes from the age of two."

He half carried her to the bathroom instinctively knowing she'd vomit out all the alcohol she had consumed. His eye brows ascended a few inches as Chloe began removing layers of clothing off of her small body. Oliver's gentlemanly gestures eluded him as he became dazed ad confused, not knowing what to do.


	14. Enough

NOTE: sexy time babies ; )

* * *

_Oliver Queen was not a playboy. He wasn't a saint either._

The events of last night replayed in his mind, some memory that would be etched in his brain forever.

His lips engulfed hers hungrily. Chloe pulled him closer almost violently, her clouded mind not thinking.

They thrashed around in the large bath gracefully as if the movements were synchronised and rehearsed to perfection. Oliver grabbed her ankles towards him and laid his head on her stomach, tenderly stroking her flesh. Chloe's peals of pleasure sent electric shocks through his body and when he entered her, a blinding light surrounded them both as they basked in the warmth of delicious excitement. Their bodies moved rhythmically, building up a painfully tangible fervour until finally, with ragged breaths and droplets of perspiration, Chloe and Oliver reached the point of heightened delight. Spasms of abrupt satisfaction burst in every cell of Oliver's body.

Oliver fell asleep with a smile on his face. He didn't care whether she got angry or not, he knew that she was something special and would try his hardest to hang on to Chloe.

He thought of all the women he ever slept with and compared them to Chloe. She had wit, intelligence, humour and the most gloriously green eyes he'd ever come across. Chloe could speak her mind without being rude and handled herself remarkably under high pressure. They had fake breasts, shallow thoughts and bad morning breath. Every time Oliver tried to come up with an uninviting trait, he would laugh a little at his own stupidity.

Chloe kept finding herself in situations where her head felt as if someone had bashed it with a heavy bag. She woke up rubbing her eyes and saw that she wasn't in her bed.

"Oh my God!" she shouted jumping to her feet.

"Where are my clothes?" she demanded. Oliver handed them to her quietly and watched her storm out of his room.

She couldn't believe he _slept _with her when she was drunk. Chloe was infuriated, her hands clenched with uncontained anger. "Hi this is Ollie, leave a message and I'll get back to you."

"You arrogant jack ass. You took advantage of the situation last night and what did you do? You slept with me, just like you do with every other bimbo who's unfortunate enough to stumble into your presence", Chloe took a deep breath and added, "Guess I'm just another notch on your bed frame."

She wanted to have sex with him more than anything. But not like that. Not one drunken night.

Chloe wanted to take things slow, get to know Oliver properly. Everyone knew her relationships always ended up badly; either almost getting killed by psychopaths or having her heart broken multiple times.

"Enough is enough" she said to herself, "Oliver Queen has had his chance."


	15. Insight

_All these months of guessing and treading on egg shells got on my nerves. Should relationships turn out to be painfully irritating? So yeah, I had my reasons for having sex with the woman I loved. Still love. I just didn't understand why this infuriated her; then again, I could never truly understand what went through Chloe Sullivan's brain._

_For once, I wanted a normal relationship. I might have jumped ahead at first, looking for fun when I first saw Oliver Queen, but suddenly he showed glimpses of kindness and tenderness and I knew that was the real Oliver. My Oliver. But he had to go and mess it up; just like all men have done and are still doing in the entire planet. Actually scratch that; they don't have to belong to this galaxy. All males in general are pure idiots. _


End file.
